Knitted sock and method of making



-and ready to bejclose'd. l

Patented Mar. 27, 1945 f Nora Jarvis Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, asu signor, bymesne assignments, toPatons and .Y Baldwins Inc., Newark,

Delaware N. J., a corporationof Vimplication March 6, 1943, Serial No. 478,188 s -r In Canada October 14, 1942 y 7 Claims.

My invention rrelates to a method of knitting socks andthe like and tothe 'product of such method.

As is well known, the portion of a sock or tion but the foot portion forwardly of thel heel and then knitting heel and foot portions. It is not possible to only unravel the. worn or damaged heel portion of socks and stockings made by the known knitting methods but4 the portion forwardly of the heell also has toA be unravelled. The method of the present inventionproduces a sock or stocking with a heel portion such that the heel alone need `be'unravelled when it is desired to replace the same` by anew knitted heel.

An Aobject of the present invention, therefore,

isto provide a method of knitting such thata sockor the like may be knitted in a manner to enable one to replace the heel by -unraVelling the heel portion only,- and then knitting a new heel portion. v

yAnother object of the invention is to provide in a sockor the like a length of yarn of a contrasting color to serve as a marker defining the juncture between a partof the heel portion and an adjoining part of the foot portion and also to serve as a means of separating the heel portion from the foot portionv before unravelling the heel portion. n,

In the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the varn ious figures: y

Figure 1 is afragmentary side viewof a typical sock made in accordance with the usual knitting method, the sock being shown in attened condition;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side view similar to Figure `1 but showing a sock, in flattened condition, made in accordance with the present invention; K

Figure .3 is a fragmentary view of Figure showing the knitted fsock, with side gaps open Figure 4 is a fragmentary side view of a sock, shown in attened condition, made in accordance with a modified form of the invention.

To better explain the method of the present invention, it will be helpful to rstlrefer to the usual method of knitting a sock, such as shown in Figure 1. The sock shown is a typical one, and it includes, like all socks, a leg portion I0, a foot portion II, the upper approxh mate half of which merges into the front half of the leg portion, and a. heel portion or flap I2 ybetween the foot portion and the rear half of the leg portion. In knitting such a sock, and in accordance with the-known method or methods of knitting a sock, the leg portion Ii! is knitted down toan imaginary line indicated by the numerals 9 9, lying substantially transverse ofthe length of the leg and defining the base or upper part of the heel portion I2. The heel portion or flap I2 is next knitted, this Vportion being in part dened by parallel edges I 4. When the heel flap has become so knitted, the stitches defining the edges I4 are picked up and knitting ofthe remainder or foot portion II is proceeded with in the usual manner.

In the method of the presentinvention, both the legportion and the heel flap are knitted in the usual manner but before knitting the line or row of stitches intended to dene the forward edge of the heel flap, a length of yarn I6 of contrasting 'colorhereinafter referred to as the colored yarn-is substituted, for the yarnstock f used in knitting the sock, and the last line of f stitches knitted with the colored yarn. The sock, or more particularly the heel flap thus far knitted, is made according to a usual or typical sock,rsuch as shown in Figure 1,. except that the last line of stitches I6 is made with colored yarn. The length of the colored yarn is preferably such that loose ends, shown at I5, project beyond the ends of the line of stitches I6. Only one end I5 is shown, the other end being on the other side of the sock.

"After the last f line vof stitches-of colored yarn-has beenfcompleted as explained'the colored yarn is again substituted by the yarn stock and a row of stitchesl'l cast on each side of the heel flap to extend between the ends i8 of stitched colored yarn and the upper corners I9 of f the heel. With the stitches of colored yarn dening the line I6 of the flap on the needles.

as well as the cast-on stitches Il, the knitting of the foot portion is proceeded with in the usual manner.

k'After the foot portion has been knitted, the

defined by the previously cast-on stitches I1 by cutting the sewing thread or yarn used, to thus again open the gaps 20... The colored thread I6 being the last row .of stitches knitted in the heel flap, is then withdrawn by pulling or unpicking each individual stitch, thus releasstitches of the foot portion so released are placed, temporarily, on a holder, while the heel portion is unravelled to the line 9 9, the other portions (leg and foot) remaining intact, following which a new heel may be knitted. 3 r

It will be evident to those familiar with knitting that the presence vof a colored yarn serves to clearly mark out the union or kjuncture be-` tween heel and foot portions, and this immeasurably aids in easily and accurately locating such juncture and in picking up the required stitches. This is even so when the yarn stock has become felted through .wear or use. After a new heel flap has been knitted, the adjacent lines of stitches defining, respectively, the forward edges of the heel flap and the .adjacentportion ofthe footportion (thevstitches of whichhave been temporarily left on .a holder) are grafted together, preferably Vas by `a `colored yarn which replaces the -original colored `'yarn I 6. The gaps 2li, between the points I8 and 19, are again closed, as by sewing 2l.

If the iiap has been darnedor has become felted, making it diiiicult to unravel the released stitches, the fiap can be cut to within threeor four rows of the beginning ofthe heel flap at line 9 9. It will then be a simple matter to `unravel the few remaining rows of. stitches ready to pick up the heel stitches."

While thev method just described is the preferred one, .there are two other slightly modied methods:

M odifed 4Method No. 1--After the legportion has been knitted, and the heel portion has been completed except for the last colored line .of stitches I8, the stitches .defining the .edge I4 on one side of the heel flap arepickedupin the same manner as these stitches vare picked ,up when the usual .or old method `of knitting vasock is used, but picked up with a separatestrand of contrasting color; the forward edge of the heel -flap is next knitted with a separate strand of conf trasting color to thus knit intov the flapthe last row of colored stitches I6; .andthe 'stitches/de-l fining the other edge I4 o-f the flap .are picked lup in the same manner as these` stitches are picked up when the usual orold method ofknitting a sock is used, but picked up Ywith a separate strand of contrasting color; following i which, knitting of the foot portion is proceeded within the usual or old ymanner of knitting .a sock. When the foot portion is completed, the strands of contrasting color with which the stitcheswofV the parallel edges t4 have been picked up ,are vwithdrawn or removed, thus releasing-,the stitches defining the edges of the ap from the corresponding stitches of the `foot por-tion, making the gaps shown at 20. The stitches of the foot portion so released are picked up and with the yarn stock, cast off in the usual manner. The gaps are then closed as by sewing with the yarn No. l of the present invention, the parallel edges g of the heel flap are severed or separated from mthe adjacent edges defined by the cast-off ing the heel portion from the foot portion. The.

stitches, by cutting vthe sewing thread or yarn used, to thus again. open the gaps 20. The colored thread Ii` being the last row of stitches knitted in the `heel flap, is then Withdrawn by pulling .or .unpicking each individual stitch, thus 'releasing the heel portion from the foot portion.

The stitches of the foot portion so released are placed, temporarily, on a holder, while the heel portion is unravelled to the line 9-f9, the other portions (leg and foot) remaining intact, following which a new heel may be knitted, then grafted and sewn to the foot portion of the sock exactly ,as given in the preferred method,

'Modified method No. 2 is best illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. After theleg portion has been knitted, and the heel portion has been completed except for the, last colored line of stitches shown at I6 in Figure 2, the stitches defining the edge I4A on one side of the heel iiap are picked up in the same `manner as these stitches are picked up when the usual or old method of knittinga sock is used, but picked up with a separate strand of contrasting color 23 thus leaving free ends 23A; `theforward edge of the heel flap is next knitted with a `separate strand of contrasting color to thus knit into the flap the last row of colored stitches IGA. rThus free ends 23A are left. The stitches defining the other edge MA (not` shown) of the flap are picked up in the same manner as these stitches are picked up when the usual or old method of knitting a sock is used, `but `picked up with a separate strand of contrasting color; `following which, knitting of the foot portion is proceeded with .in the usual or old manner of knitting a sock,

When it is desired to replace the heel'portion made in accordance with this modified method, theparallel edges of the heel flap IIIA are separated from the adjacent edges of the foot portion by pulling or unpicking each individual stitch formed by the intervening separateyarn of contrasting color 23, to thus form gaps such as shown at 20 in Figure 3., The released stitches now dening the edge of the foot'portion, adjacent each gap 2.0, .are placed temporarily on holders.- Thecoloredyarn IGA being the last row of stitches knitted .in the heel ap, is then with-drawn` or removedby pulling,v or unpicking each individual stitch, thus completelyrreleas- .ing the heel portion vfromthe foot portion. The

stitches of .this part of the'foot portion so released are also placed, temporarily, on a holder, While the heel portionlis unravelled to the'line 9`-9, the other portions"(leg and foot) remaining intact, following which anew heel may be knitted.' When the vnew heel flaphas b'eenknittedthe adjacent lines of stitches defining, respectively, the forward edges o i thegheel'flap and the adjacentportion ofthe .footportion (the stitches of which have been temporarily left 'on a holder). are grafted together, preferably as by a colored yarn which `rcplalces'the original colored yarn I6.

With the stock yarn a numberof stitches are picked up along each edge of the flap I2 between the points I8 and I9 corresponding to the number of stitches which have been temporarily left on .a holder and with a colored yarn grafted to said stitches on the holder, thus closing the" gaps shown at 20.

I claim:

l. A knitted sock or the like including a heel portion and a foot portion presenting a continu-` ous stitch pattern but incorporating a row of knit stitches made from a length of yarn separate from the yarn stock of which both the heel and the foot portions of the sock are made, between and uniting the .adjacent rows of stitches of said heel and foot portions, respectively.

2. A knitted sock or the like .including a heel portion and a foot portion presenting a continuous stitch pattern but incorporating a row of knit stitches made from a length of yarn separate from and of a color contrasting with the yarn stock of which both the neel and the foot portions of the sock are made, between and uniting the adjacent rows of stitches of said heel and foot portions, respectively.

3. The method of knitting a sockor the like, which comprises knitting the leg portion, knitting the heel ap, continuing the knitting of the flap with a row of knit stitches made from a separate.

y ting the heel flap, continuing the knittingof the flap with a row of knit stitches madeirom a separate length of yarn of contrasting color and leaving free the ends of the separate yarn. casting on parallel rows of stitches extending between the 4ends of .the said row of knit stitches and the leg portion but free of the parallel edges of the Hap to provide gaps between said edges and the rows of cast-on stitches, knitting the foot portion and closing said gaps by sewing together the edges thereof.

y5. The method of knitting a sock or the like, which comprises knitting the leg portion, knitting the heel ap portion, knitting the foot portion, and incorporating a row of knit stitches made from a length of yarn separate from the Yarn stock of which both the heel and the foot portions of the sock are made, Ibetween anduniting adjacent rows of stitches of the heel and foot portions, respectively, of the sock.

6. The method of knitting a sock or the like which comprises knitting a leg portion, knitting a heel flap, knitting the forward edge of the flap with a row of knit stitches made from a separate length of yarn, picking up the parallel side edges of the ilap with two separate lengths of yarn,

continuing the knitting from said forward and side edges of the ap to form a foot portion from still another length of yarn, removing the said two separate lengths of yarn from the parallel side edges of the ap to form gaps between said parallel side edges and adjacent edges of the foot portion, picking up stitches on said adjacent edges and casting olf, and closing said gaps.

7. A knitted sock or the like including a heel 

